T-65 X-wing starfighter
The Incom T-65 X-wing starfighter was the primary all-purpose starfighter of the Rebel Alliance and its successor governments. Known for its versatility and exceptional combat performance, it was a favorite with Rebel and New Republic pilots. Possessing deflector shields, a short-range hyperdrive, an R2 series astromech for repairs and navigation, and a complement of proton torpedoes, the X-wing allowed the Rebellion to launch raids in Imperial space with improved odds of a successful mission. The X-wing played a major role in the Galactic Civil War following its capture on Fresia and the defection of its designers to the Alliance. It was most heralded as the fighter that destroyed the Death Star at the hands of Luke Skywalker. Later in the war, it would form the backbone of the Alliance Starfighter Corps, defending Alliance ships and leading attacks on Imperial vessels and installations. Most importantly, it could perform on near equal terms with the Empire's high-performance TIE fighters when handled by an experienced pilot. Pilots of Rogue Squadron favored using the multi-role X-wing fighter, flying it as often as they could on most missions; they only employed other craft for highly specialized missions, such as missions that required ion cannons. The X-wing was so predominantly flown by Rebel and New Republic forces that it became a symbol of their faction, much like the TIE fighter and Star Destroyer were symbols of the Galactic Empire. Thanks to continued upgrades to the basic design and improved tactics, the X-wing series remained one of the galaxy's predominant multi-role starfighters for over 40 years. History Alliance service The X-wing was originally designed by Incom Corporation for the Empire by Vors Voorhorian. It was directly descended from the old Z-95 Headhunter, built by Incom and Subpro, with lessons learned from the ARC-170 starfighter of the Clone Wars. The fighter was advertised by the Galactic Defense Review prior to 999 ARR. After the Galactic Empire planned to nationalize the Incom Corporation, the entire engineering team defected to the Rebel Alliance with the prototypes hidden on Fresia. After four prototypes were extracted from Fresia during the Battle of Fresia, it first encountered Imperial forces in the Battle of Turkana. Many more of the ships were liberated from an Incom assembly facility prior to the Battle of Yavin. The Rebel Alliance soon began building its own X-wings in clandestine drydocks and factories scattered throughout the Outer Rim Territories, though decentralized production and the scarcity of various high-grade alloys used in the X-wing's construction meant that squadrons sometimes had to endure agonizing delays before new fighters arrived. Besides its usage by the Rebel Alliance, a Starfighter volunteer squadron by the name of the Lightspeed Panthers utilized several customized T-65 X-wing starfighters against several TIE/LN starfighters during the Fei Hu campaign, and demonstrated the fighter's superiority by taking down 286 TIEs within 9 months while only losing 4 of their own X-wings. This eventually led to the Empire's development of the TIE/IN interceptor and, later, the TIE Hunter, a direct counter to the X-wing that possessed S-foils, proton torpedo launchers, and ion cannons. The X-wing was continually updated throughout its design lifetime. The T-65B was the primary fighter used by the Rebellion in the Galactic Civil War. There was also the enhanced T-65C-A2 developed by the Alliance following the Battle of Yavin. These versions were rare during the Galactic Civil War due to limited production capabilities. The T-65AC4 was another variant type produced during the New Republic. Its engines allowed it to fly at speeds comparable to an A-wing. One notable prototype, the T-65D-A1, replaced the astromech droid with an internal computer core for hyperdrive jump calculations but was considered a failure (partially due to ease of sabotage). The TX-65 was the X-wing trainer variant. Famous uses included the Battle of Yavin, where an X-wing piloted by Luke Skywalker destroyed the Empire's first Death Star, although nearly all the other X-wings that participated in the battle were destroyed. An X-wing piloted by Wedge Antilles also helped destroy the second Death Star's reactor at the Battle of Endor, in concert with the Millennium Falcon, starting off a chain reaction that completely destroyed the battlestation. Despite the legendary combat prowess of the X-wing however, 70 percent of X-wing sorties throughout the Galactic Civil War were reconnaissance missions, and Wing Commanders were taught to attack in strength "only when the results will be spectacularly successful". The Galactic Empire also had access to X-wings, which they used in false flag attacks during the Galactic Civil War. This includes the the action at Delrakkin and after the Battle of Endor, when Kirtan Loor created a false Rogue Squadron. New Republic service It had been intended that the X-wing series would be replaced by the E-wing approximately six years after the Battle of Endor, but initial design issues relating to the weapons placement delayed wide-spread introduction into the New Republic military. Wide-scale deployment of the E-wing did occur (most notably in Fifth Fleet), but X-wing production continued on and may have equipped fighter squadrons not "at the tip of the spear." One notable exception was Rogue Squadron, the Republic's most elite fighter squadron, which was known for its almost exclusive use of the X-wing. Shortly before the Yuuzhan Vong War, the New Republic fielded the T-70 X-wing, supplementing the more advanced and more expensive Series III E-wing. The T-70 featured an upsized torpedo bay, increasing the proton torpedo load from six to twelve. Engines, laser cannons, and avionics were also improved. The T-70 was greatly improved in all respects over the earlier designs and was initially issued to starfighter squadrons with Jedi pilots.